College Bully

While most studies about bullying have focused on students in grades 4 through 10, bullying does not disappear when students leave high school. There are many studies that show that bullying happens in the workplace, on the highway, in homes and in stores.

One area that has had very little exploration of bullying, however, are the college years. The few studies that have been done suggest that bullying in college is as prevalent as it is in high school, though it is often unrecognized as bullying. Instead, by the college years bullying is often separated out into hate crimes,

sexual harassment and anti-gay incidents. Bullying also can masquerade as fraternity and sorority hazing, sports team initiations and other ‘social’ types of bullying. There is also a suggestion that many students are bullied and harassed in college not only by their peers, but by professors.

The Prevalence of Bullying On Campus

The statistics on college bullying use the definition of bullying originated by Dan Olweus, the premier expert on bullying in the world. His definition states that bullying is aggressive behavior or intentional harm-doing which is carried out repeatedly and over time in an interpersonal relationship characterized by an imbalance of power.¹ Based on that definition, college students reported:

• 18.5% were bullied at least once or twice in college by another student

• 5% were bullied occasionally by another student

• 1.9% were bullied frequently by another student

• 27.5% reported seeing one college student bullied by another at least once or twice

• 2.9% reported seeing one college student bullied by another frequently

• 18.7% report having bullied another college student at least once

• 20% reported having been bullied by a teacher at least once or twice

• 45% reported having seen other students bullied by a teacher at least once or twice

• Over 6% of students were bullied frequently or very frequently

• Over 5% of students admitted to bullying frequently or very frequently²

The findings on bullying in college do not support the general belief that bullying gradually decreases after middle school and disappears during high school. Instead, as suggested by the literature on bullying in the workplace, it seems that the incidence of bullying and the number of bullies remains fairly consistent from middle school through adulthood.

College Bullies – Who Are They?

The Chapelle study found that male college students bully considerably more than female college students do, though male and female college students report being bullied in equal numbers. This again, is consistent with findings in high school and middle school bullying. Females tend to bully other females, but males bully both females and males.

It is important to keep in mind that by the time bullies reach college, the bullying behaviors may have found socially sanctioned avenues. Extreme hazing, for example, is a form of bullying. Many critics indict the entire Greek system of fraternities and sororities as havens for institutionalized bullying and sexist, racist and anti-gay harassment. Fraternities may encourage and condone sexual harassment and bullying both implicitly and openly with practices such as tagging certain female guests at frat parties as fair game. Peers may be pressured into drinking, committing illegal acts and participating in humiliating and harmful activities.

Kinds of Bullying On College Campuses

Hazing

Hazing is often not considered bullying as it is of limited duration, and those who are the recipients of the harmful acts have usually accepted that treatment at the hands of their peers as their entrée into an exclusive clique or group. Because of its sometimes extreme nature, however, hazing is forbidden on most college campuses and is treated with at least as much severity as other forms of harassment.

Victims of hazing may be physically assaulted, beaten, kicked, or subjected to sexual assaults. They may be insulted, ridiculed and systematically humiliated by being forced to engage in demeaning acts. A student who breaks down during hazing may find himself the target of ridicule for the rest of his college career.

Sexual Bullying

Sexual harassment includes unwelcome intimate touching, taunting, comments, suggestive jokes, unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors and threats. It may also include spreading malicious gossip or rumors about a person’s supposed promiscuity or other sexual matters, sexually suggestive pictures and writings including internet and IM messages, and unwanted physical contact up to and including rape.

Racial Harassment

Racial harassment is defined as unwanted or unwelcome contact based on a person’s race, nationality or ethnicity which is offensive to the recipient and creates a hostile or unsafe working or study environment. Examples of racial bullying include offensive jokes about a person’s race or ethnic background, ridicule or assumptions based on racial stereotypes, exclusion, hostile or malicious rumors, offensive graffiti, cartoons or other racial propaganda based on racial stereotypes, physical assault or threats of physical assault.

Other forms of harassment

Any unwelcome or offensive conduct which would be seen as offensive, humiliating, humiliating or demeaning by a reasonable person which is based on any of the following: gender; marital or family status; sexual orientation; religion; age; disability and membership of the traveler community.

Anti-bullying Tactics for College Campuses

Many colleges have already taken steps to address hazing and harassment on campus, and have adapted their anti-harassment policies to include all forms of bullying and harassment. If you are being bullied, or witness bullying at college, there are a number of things that you can do:

• Report the harassment to school officials.

• Keep a record of any contact or harassing conduct. It will help establish a pattern of behavior.

• Save any contact with the harasser, whether it is written, recorded, emailed or posted on a web site. If there is graffiti, take a photograph of it and report it rather than attempting to clean it off. As hateful as it may feel, it provides evidence should you choose to prosecute the perpetrators.

• As with any other kind of bullying, remember that you are not at fault. There is help, and you will not be blamed for being bullied.

• DO NOT RETALIATE. When you retaliate, you are muddying the waters and making it more difficult to investigate the situation.

• Do not accept a solution that includes ‘mediation’ between yourself and the bully unless you have a strong advocate to support you in the mediation.

• If the harassment is based on gender, race, sexual preference or disability, you may have legal recourse. Crimes based on any of those are considered hate crimes in the United States, and carry stiff penalties for perpetrators. Don’t be afraid to use that fact to force the college to deal with the issue if needed.

• If the bullying has a base in gender, race or sexual preference, seek legal advice.

• If you are fearful of physical injury or worse, seek help and protection. Avoid being alone in areas where you may be attacked. If necessary, call on campus security to provide an escort for you. Your life is more important than your dignity.

• If you know of someone being bullied, you can help by reporting the bullying, or by encouraging the victim to report it. You can also help by being a listening ear and reassuring the victim that it is NOT their fault.